As the full complement of Chelsea players assembled for the start of the Premier League season, Cesc Fabregas sensed that the squad he had joined was capable of something special this season.

As he looked around, midfielder Fabregas saw arch-competitors and proven winners on the training ground at Cobham.

There were seasoned warriors such as John Terry, Gary Cahill, Branislav Ivanovic and Didier Drogba. And there were talented newcomers in Diego Costa, Nemanja Matic, Filipe Luis – and, of course, himself.

“When did I think we could be successful this season? From day one,” said the star signed from Barcelona for £33million, who celebrates his 28th birthday on Monday.

By then, he should have a Premier League winner's medal – and he has played no small part in Chelsea’s triumphant season that already has the Capital One Cup on display at Stamford Bridge.

His link with Matic has been crucial, but it is the all-round ability in the squad that has made such an impression on Fabregas.

“Once we all met at the beginning of the season and we started training with each other, we knew we had a great squad,” he said, before Sunday's potentially decisive home game against Crystal Palace . "We also played well at the start and we were also getting to know each other better and better. We had a strong team and a strong squad.”

It was a significant decision for Fabregas to move to Chelsea. But once he met manager Jose Mourinho and had been given assurances about the role he would play, he was sold on the idea.

He knew about life in the capital from his time at Arsenal, where he had spent his formative years.

“I knew the city, I knew the league,” said Fabregas. “And I am a very open minded guy. I can adapt to wherever I am and whatever the situation is. “

His form is such that he was a genuine competitor to Eden Hazard for the Premier League’s best player:

“The best of my career? Maybe. Maybe the experience and the quality have all come together for me. I know myself much better.

“I am playing in a position that I like a lot. I feel much more important to the team. It all comes together and I won’t deny that I have enjoyed this season a lot. I am enjoying my football and I am comfortable because there is a manager who allows me to play the way I feel and that obviously helps a lot.

“You have no fear because you have the confidence of the manager. Your team sees you as an important person on the pitch and in the dressing room.”

“There is a new team and a new generation coming up and we have to stick together as long as we can. Hopefully, this is the start for Chelsea, not the finish.”

And in his sights now is glory in the Champions League, a competition in which Chelsea were eliminated by PSG.

“We want to go one step forward next year and fight more the Champions League," he said. “We have to push for that and maybe we have to adjust one or two things if we are to achieve that. We have seen that in England we can win everything. In Europe it changes. But we are not far away.”

Blue ribbons: Chelsea have won the FA Youth Cup in three of the last four seasons (Image: Getty)

He then proceeded to pay his current team a huge compliment.

“This is as good a team as I have played in,” he said. ­“Definitely. We have a strong mentality and character and they are all winners and competitors. The dressing room spirit is fantastic. John Terry is a great leader but everyone like Ivanovic and Petr Cech, all the players who have been there a long time, they help a lot.

“And there are a lot of young players like Oscar and Willian. They are coming of age, getting maturity and starting to compete well. “

Come July and Fabregas and his wife are expecting their second child.

Success on the pitch, domestic happiness away from football. All in all, 2015 has the makings of a memorable year for Cesc Fabregas.